It’s hard to go wrong when Aram gets brought to the fore.
The Task Force’s technical genius was front and center on The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 10.
And after a long Olympics hiatus, we didn’t get stuck with Ressler’s addiction problem, Park’s troubled marriage, Harold’s being framed for murder, or Red’s endless hunt for the person responsible for Liz’s death.
Instead of those seemingly neverending storylines, we finally got the answer to the question: What was Aram thinking when he walked away from those startup millions to rejoin the Task Force?
Aram had never come to that answer himself before now, as he instead buried himself in work while Greylock went on to earn millions.
But hey, since Arcane Wireless was a techy blacklister, this was undoubtedly Aram’s chance to shine, and he did.
Didn’t that sound like some new wireless service that should have Ryan Reynolds wearing a wizard’s hat as its spokesman?
Instead, it was an untraceable cellular network for criminals to use, not to be wiretapped.
It’s understandable why such an organization, led by a man who goes by The Seer, would pique Harold’s interest. What wasn’t at all clear was Red’s angle in bringing it to Cooper because he always had an angle.
When that finally became evident, oh, boy! Hadn’t Harold and the Task Force stepped in it this time?
I suppose that’s the downside of being a supersecret division that few people know exists. A person can’t just call the FBI operator and have her patch him through to warn you off of another supersecret operation.
Meeting Aram’s mentor, FJ Powell, went a long way toward explaining why Aram is the way he is. No matter what Aram did in the past, it’s likely that it wasn’t enough to satisfy FJ.
It was a hoot when FJ realized that Aram was quite a few rungs above him on the FBI’s institutional ladder.
But that didn’t make a difference as they fell back into their old roles, with Aram once again being condescended to by a disapproving parental figure. As if he didn’t already have enough of those.
The interesting twist was watching Aram getting jealous when he discovered that FJ was considering applying for Aram’s old position as CTO at Greylock.
All of Aram’s doubts about whether he was squandering his intellectual potential came to the forefront, especially all the money he gave up to do his civic duty.
Fortunately, Park served as Aram’s counselor, reinforcing all the rationale that Aram already knew but couldn’t voice.
The eventual dissolution of the Arcane Network could have been avoided if only FJ had opened his mouth sooner. He had to know that Aram had the security clearance to know its purpose and told him about it.
But everything came together for Red, who, surprise, was the ultimate target of the Arcane operation. Of course, how well would that have worked since he knew enough about it to sic the Task Force on it?
Also, using what he’d learned about the Arcane Network helped Raymond with his Heddie problem.
Marvin was right when he told Reddington that he was distracted by putting too much of his attention into determining who was responsible for Liz’s death.
Mostly, Liz was at fault. She blamed Red for much that had gone wrong in her life, which is true to some degree. But she made her share of bad choices as well.
But Raymond isn’t satisfied with that explanation. He needs someone living to blame.
As Marvin noted, figuring out all the events that led to Liz’s death isn’t going to bring her back. So Reddington should look forward rather than back.
So maybe the FBI raid to seize the soybeans was Red’s fault. Or perhaps even a blind squirrel can find a nut now and then. Who knows?
Harold was correct that the Task Force’s arrangement with Reddington doesn’t give carte blanche to his employees. So he wouldn’t waste his political capital to free Heddie.
That left Raymond in a predicament. Sure, Heddie is loyal to him, but just how faithful?
Marvin, himself an ex-con, was the poster boy for conflict of interest, representing Heddie to do what’s best for his actual client, Red.
Watching that babyfaced AUSA in action, you had to wonder how hard the government was trying to flip her. He was so in over his head against Marvin.
I mean, Marvin could walk that earwig into the interview room so that Raymond himself could reassure Heddie through it.
How much of Heddie’s flightiness was fabricated, and how much was for real? Either way, it knocked the government lawyers off balance.
When the government lawyers started making noise about Marvin serving two masters, Reddington found a way around by sending in the substitute “defense attorney” to safely pressure Heddie again to flip against him.
Even without meaning to, Heddie passed Raymond’s test. And thanks to the information Marvin passed on to the government lawyers, she was freed to work for Red again as it should be.
To follow Heddie’s journey, watch The Blacklist online.
What did you think of the Arcane Network?
Did you guess Red’s angle in giving Harold this blacklister?
Did you doubt Heddie’s loyalty?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.